Will 2024 be the year AI inserts itself into mainstream consumer technologies or the year that we discard it as a novelty toy? My bet is on the former but who knows🤷🏼♂️. Here are some things that might be worth your time this month…
Still unclear what large language models are and how they do what they do? Check out this 7 minute primer video on LLMs that I share with my students.
Wondering the best ways to write effective chatGPT prompts. This prompting guide is a fantastic resource for those wanting to use chatGPT in the coming semester. https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/prompt-engineering/strategy-write-clear-instructions
Emergent Behavior in Large Language Models. Reading this article, I couldn’t help but think of the expectations for research students. The “best” students are those that surprise, that develop new insights / techniques. https://medium.com/@timothydasey/ai-does-know-more-than-its-taught-bda609970f92
Good news: chatGPT hasn’t increased the amount of cheating amongst high schoolers. Bad news: cheating rates have been high for a long time, with 60 to 70 percent of students admitting to some form of cheating in the past month. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/technology/chatbot-cheating-schools-students.html?te=1&nl=the-morning&emc=edit_nn_20240104
Want a list of scholars doing incredible things with generative AI? Here is a Nature article that explores how generative AI has changed the approach of 7 researchers. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03798-6
One of the things I love about photography is there is a seemingly endless catalog to explore. Elliott Erwitt was a photographer who taught me how to introduce humor into composition. He died last year - here is a great essay about his work. https://aperture.org/editorial/how-elliott-erwitt-found-his-signature-humor-and-joy/
Completely random: if you are like me and like to work with good tunes in the background. This DJ set from a New York Basement Party in 2023 sets a great vibe.
Speaking of music, this journalist documents his journey to finding Garth Brooks new album (exclusive to Bass Pro shops🐟😂) . The story itself is worth the read but it’s also a reminder that people can be incredibly stubborn to adopting new technologies. https://uproxx.com/indie/garth-brooks-seven-cd-box-set-bass-pro-shops-time-traveler-review/
This reflection on Nostalgia and Technology by Om Malik pairs nicely with the Garth Brooks article and the discussion around the future of generative AI. https://om.co/2023/11/30/nostalgia-is-a-curse-in-life-and-tech/#more-921366
A childhood friend works for low code website development company, Hatch. She shared this ‘auto parent 3000’ on LinkedIn and my whole family had fun playing with it over the holiday break. Truly LOL material here for parents with small children. https://team.hatch.one/auto-parent-3000
Love these recommendations...looking forward to the next post! Hope life is awesome, Andrew!